FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ goal this week is the same as every other team wrapping up a disappointing regular season: bury the frustration and make amends by winning four games in four days at the SEC Tournament.

But what happens if the Razorbacks can’t pull off the improbable feat, which would give them the conference’s automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament’s 68-team field?

Arkansas (18-13, 6-10 in the SEC) appears to be fighting to keep the 2011-12 season alive when it plays LSU (17-13, 7-9) in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday at noon. The Razorbacks are sliding to New Orleans with losses in seven of their final nine regular season games, leaving them on shaky ground when it comes to the postseason.

It’s something Arkansas forward Michael Sanchez understood Monday, when the Razorbacks began preparing for the Tigers.

“We’re going to play this game with a lot of urgency,” Sanchez said. “I know I am with the possibility of it being my last game.”

It’s a harsh reality for the Razorbacks, who were 16-6 after beating Vanderbilt on Jan. 31 and garnering NCAA Tournament bubble talk. But the Hogs have struggled to win since, leaving them on the verge of missing the postseason altogether for the fourth straight season.

C.M. Newton, chairman of the National Invitation Tournament selection committee, believes Arkansas needs to beat LSU in order to remain in consideration for the tournament.

But he said the Razorbacks might need a win against top-seed Kentucky in the second round, too, in order to land in the 32-team field.

“They’ve got to beat LSU,” Newton said. “If they can’t beat LSU they have no chance I wouldn’t think. But I don’t know whether just a win against LSU would get them in or not.

“It depends on who they’re going to be compared against.”

Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Florida are the only SEC teams who appear to be shoo-ins for the NCAA Tournament field. Newton mentioned Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU as other SEC teams on the NIT’s radar, though some could land in the NCAA Tournament.

The NIT does not have an invitation limit for the number of teams from one conference. But the tournament is required to take regular season conference champions who don’t make the NCAA Tournament. Newton said an average of eight teams fills those slots, which typically leaves room for 24 at-large selections.

Arkansas’ late slide (2-7 to end the regular season) and RPI (No. 99) certainly don’t help when matched against NIT-hopeful teams in other BCS conferences. But Newton also said the full body of work will be considered when the NIT field is selected and finalized.

“Personally, I’m interested in teams that are on a little bit of an uptick coming into the tournament,” Newton said. “Like Alabama last year. But from the standpoint of our principles and procedures, the entire year is considered. Not just the last five games or eight games or any of that stuff. ...

“So we’ll just have to see.”

An Arkansas spokesperson confirmed the school has submitted a bid in hopes of hosting an NIT game if the Razorbacks are selected for the tournament. The spokesperson added it would be “speculation” when asked if Arkansas would consider playing in the College Basketball Tournament (CBI), a 32-team tournament that began four years ago and has boasted champions like Oregon (2011) and Oregon State (2009).

It’s not likely, considering no SEC school has played in the tournament’s existence.

But Arkansas coach Mike Anderson doesn’t want his team caught up in the postseason picture — or the likelihood the season could be over if the Hogs lose early in the SEC Tournament.

He just wants his team to concentrate on beating LSU and advancing to play Kentucky.

“We all know it’s survive and advance,” Anderson said. “The first game is always the most important game. Obviously you want your kids to come out and play, hopefully, with the right mindset, and that is with a sense of urgency. That’s what I want to see: our guys play with a sense of urgency. This could be their last game. So when you say it’s a one-game season, it is a one-game season.”